The Agenda - Faculty and Staff Newsletter

Category: Staff News

  • Librarian Participation in “Hands-On” Evidence-Based Medicine Rounds with Pediatric Residents [MLA poster]

    Author: Pamela Hargwood
    Author: Pamela Hargwood

    Objectives:

    To describe the successful implementation of a project to increase the ability of pediatric residents at a medical school to practice evidence based medicine (EBM) in real time; examine if patient care is supported or changed based on the resident’s findings; and discuss the role of the medical school librarian in this process.

    Methods:

    In July 2014, the Department of Pediatrics implemented “hands-on ” inpatient EBM rounds to help pediatric residents learn how to better formulate clinical questions, locate relevant literature, and apply their EBM findings to patient care in “real time”. These hour long rounds take place bi-weekly and are held on inpatient wards. All pediatric residents rotating on the inpatient team are invited to attend the EBM rounds. The medial librarian and two pediatric faculty members assist the residents with formulating clinical questions based on the inpatients they are currently following and searching for an answer to their question. The residents summarize their search and findings using a PICO worksheet. The following day the residents are evaluated on whether or not they presented their EBM findings on attending rounds and if patient care was supported or changed based on these findings.

    Results:

    The pediatric residents became more familiar and comfortable with using PICO to formulate their clinical questions. They also are more prepared to search the literature systematically and interpret the findings of their literature search.

  • Reflective Practice for Professional Development through a Collaborative Systematic Review Project [MLA poster]

    Authors: Misa Mi, Jie Li, Lin Wu, Wendy Wu, Yingting Zhang
    Authors: Misa Mi, Jie Li, Lin Wu, Wendy Wu, Yingting Zhang

    Objectives

    Learning is most effective when it takes place in a context as a collaborative rather than an isolated activity. Experience serves as the basis for learning and cannot take place without reflection. We formed a team of 6 health sciences librarians to conduct a collaborative systematic review (SR) project. Upon completion of the project, we reflected on our involvement in the project for reflective practice as a process of professional development. Grounded in Donald Schön’s reflective practice as a conceptual framework, the research study is to investigate the nature, impact of our participation in the project, how we came to understand our behavior, and how we developed an awareness of our own actions and the effects of our participation on our professional development. The goal is to understand what was involved in conducting a SR so that we can better understand how researchers would undertake a SR and hence serve them better.

    Methods
    A phenomenographic approach, which provides a lens through which to explore different understandings of a phenomenon, was used to explore the variations in which we experienced with the SR project, the multiple ways in which we came to understand SR, and the different roles we took in the process. Five health sciences librarians across different library settings participated in the study. Interviews were conducted with a structured questionnaire including open-ended or probing questions serving as prompts for participants to reflect on various experiences in the SR project. Participants’ responses will be analyzed with a qualitative approach to explore and capture a range of possible ways of conceptualizing and understanding what it took to undertake a SR. Responses will be classified into conceptual categories. To increase the trustworthiness of the research, the participants will be involved in the phenomenological analysis for the purpose of investigator triangulation.

    Results
    The participants have learned the entire SR process, and gained practical experiences with conducting a SR project. They have developed ability to provide better SR services, built confidence and developed awareness of the topic under review. They have also learned the importance of communications and collaborations among team members, sharing collective wisdom, and time commitment. In addition, they have improved understanding of librarians’ roles in SR and boosted confidence in conducting SR and seeking co-authorship.

    Conclusions
    Librarians’ involvement in the entire SR process have led to changes in knowledge, attitude, confidence, and skills in conducting a SR. Self-reflection on one’s own experience with SR bridges a disconnect between formal SR training, continuous professional development and growth, and reflective and improved practice of librarianship. Self-reflection on one’s action serves as an alternative way of promoting health sciences librarians’ professional development.

  • Rutgers University Libraries at NJLA Conference, May 16 – 18

    njla

    Many of our colleagues will attend or participate in the 2016 Annual NJLA Conference this month. The conference will run from May 16-18 and will take place at Harrah’s Waterfront Conference Center in Atlantic City. Perusing the program, it looks like the following sessions will feature people from Rutgers University Libraries. If I’ve missed one, please send me a note and I’ll update this post.

    Tuesday, May 17:

    Poster Sessions
    “Embracing Challenges in Times of Change: NJ Academic Librarians Identify Opportunities Presented by the ACRL Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education”
    Leslin Charles
    11:15 a.m. – 12:15 p.m.

    Best Practices in Internal Communications
    Jessica Pellien
    11:30 a.m. – 12:20 p.m.

    Awesome Outreach by Academic Libraries
    Megan Lotts
    3:10 p.m. – 4 p.m.

    Music Advisory: Connecting Books, Music & Readers
    Jonathan Sauceda
    4:10 p.m. – 5 p.m.

    Wednesday, May 18:

    College & University Section Research Award Forum
    Gracemary Smulewitz
    2:30 p.m. – 3:20 p.m.

    Training Tips & Tricks: Templates and Strategies for Training New Staff
    Zara Wilkinson, Moderator
    3:40 p.m. – 4:30 p.m.

    Some of our colleagues from Rutgers SCI will be presenting as well:

    Tuesday, May 17:

    The Changing Face of Education for Information Professionals
    Ross Todd, PhD, Rutgers University
    Lilia Pavlovsky, PhD, Rutgers University
    Joyce Valenza, PhD, Rutgers University
    Chirag Shah, PhD, Rutgers University
    3:10 – 5 p.m.

    Wednesday, May 18:

    Will Librarians be Ready When Professors and Students Move from Print Research Papers to Multimedia Presentations?
    11:30 – 12:20
    Dan O’Connor, Rutgers LIS
    GoUn Kim, Rutgers LIS

     

  • Gary Golden’s Retirement Party Invitation

    gary goldenJoin us as we celebrate Gary Golden’s incredible career at Rutgers University Libraries. The faculty and staff at Paul Robeson Library are planning a festive party to commemorate Gary’s retirement on June 6 at 12 p.m. Join them on the 2nd floor of the Robeson library for food and fun.

    If you plan to attend, please let Monique Whittle know. RSVPs and the suggested donation of $25 is due to Monique by May 19.

    We will have a couple of speakers at the event, but we want to give everyone a chance to share their special memories and moments with Gary.

    If you would like to participate in a special display during the event, please fill out this Google form.

    To share this form with colleagues past and present, please send this link: http://go.rutgers.edu/wtdae3t.

  • Tara Maharjan’s visit to Kaiser Library in Nepal [Photos]

    Special collections and university archives processing archivist, Tara Maharjan, recently traveled to Nepal, almost one year after the 7.8 magnitude earthquake. While in Nepal, she took a trip to the 120-year old Kaiser Library, the oldest library in the country. The library building, as well as one-third of the 28,000 books, were damaged. The books from the four floors have all been moved to the ground level, the only part of the building which is somewhat structurally sound, and are now in plastic bags until the building can be reopened to the public. In the mean time, the small library staff serves patrons from a tent outside the building, where people can view newspapers and a few books.

    Here are just a few of Tara’s images from the Kaiser Library:

    • OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA
  • Celebrating the Life of Ellen Calhoun

    Celebrating the Life of Ellen Calhoun

    Ellen Calhoun
    Heaven’s the place where all the dogs you’ve ever loved come to greet you. —Unknown

    Ellen Calhoun (August 17, 1949 – December 17, 2015) was the beloved wife of Bob DeMartino, with whom she celebrated forty four years of happy marriage. She graduated from Douglass College and had strong ties to Rutgers University.

    Ellen joined Rutgers University Libraries on November 2nd, 1981 as a Circulation Librarian. She achieved tenure in July 1988. During her thirty-four-year career at Rutgers, her titles included Head of the Reference Department, Serials Librarian, and Head of the Government Documents Department. As a government documents librarian at the Library of Science and Medicine, she helped countless library users track down hard-to-find materials including government documents, soil surveys, and topographic maps. She was also a patents expert and an early adopter of technologies in the library. In 1988, she was recognized by the United States Internal Revenue Service for her outstanding public service contribution in government documents. As the author of several publications, she received an Outstanding Research Award, presented by the New Jersey Library Association for her paper, “Patents: A Valuable Resource in the Information Age”, with Connie Wu.

    In addition to her skills as a librarian, Ellen was a friend who will be missed for her wit, her gentleness, and her love for all living things, especially dogs. We wish her peace among all of her beloved animal friends.

    Donations in Ellen’s memory may be made to:
    Big Fluffy Dog Rescue
    or
    the charity of your choice

    Big Fluffy Dog Rescue is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization

     

  • Quick takes on events & news

    Quick takes on events & news

    National Library Week

    April 10 – 16, 2016 160217-pao-national-library-week-2016-psa.inddThe theme of this year’s National Library Week is “Libraries Transform.” You can read up on National Library Week here: http://www.ala.org/news/mediapresscenter/factsheets/nationallibraryweek.

    Student Employment Week

    April 10 – 16, 2016 Thank-you-word-cloudThe Student Coordinator Group is putting the finishing touches on their plans to celebrate and thank our student workers. Each unit will have different activities throughout the week and we will host a spotlight series showcasing a different student worker across the system each day as a news story. Look for more information on this soon.

    “The Elusiveness of Progress: Voting Rights in America” exhibit at Kilmer Library

    Ends August 31, 2016 Voting rights ondisplay obama 300 pxThe Elusiveness of Progress: Voting Rights in America is on display at Kilmer Library, Rutgers University–New Brunswick, now through the end of August. The exhibit is free and open to the public.

    Like Jazz Women’s History Month Film Festival in Newark

    March 29 – April 7, 2016 LikeJazz 300Dana Library and the Institute of Jazz Studies are partnering with Women In Media – Newark n their 2016 Women’s History Month Film Festival.

    April 5 at 5 p.m.: Dana Library will host the screenings of Airgirl and The Unforgettable Hampton Family (with Dawn Hampton making a special appearance at the screening).

    April 6 at 5 p.m.: Dana Library will show An Educated Woman and Mary Lou Williams: The Lady Who Swings the Band.

    For a complete schedule of films please visit their website: http://wim-n.com/film-festival-2016/

    TFAP@TEN exhibit at Douglass Library

    Ends April 8, 2016
    Detail from Apiphobia (2011) by Anonda Bell. Mixed media installation. Dimensions variable.
    Detail from Apiphobia (2011) by Anonda Bell. Mixed media installation. Dimensions variable.

    TFAP@TEN, a group exhibition honoring the 10th anniversary of The Feminist Art Project (TFAP), is on display through April 8 in the Mary H. Dana Women Artists Series Galleries at Douglass Library.

    Women and Creativity House Student Exhibitions

    April 20 – May 2, 2016
    Sarah Ferreira, After Jill Magid, Muse Portrait, 2014, digital photograph, 14 x 11". From 2014-15 WCH Exhibition.
    Sarah Ferreira, After Jill Magid, Muse Portrait, 2014, digital photograph, 14 x 11″.
    From 2014-15 WCH Exhibition.

    Women and Creativity House Student Exhibitions will feature the work of Sarah Ferreira, CWAH intern and Stacy Scibelli, learning community coordinator.

    The annual Women and Creativity House Student Exhibition is sponsored by Douglass Residential College and the Center for Women in the Arts and Humanities, a unit of the Office of the Senior VP for Academic Affairs. The exhibition is part of the Mary H. Dana Women Artists Series, a program of the Center for Women in the Arts and Humanities in partnership with Rutgers University Libraries, and is the oldest continuous running exhibition space in the United States dedicated to making visible the work of emerging and established contemporary women artists.

    Twenty years later, Jim Niessen will revisit Historians and the Internet

    Twenty years ago, near the beginning of his career as a librarian, world history librarian Jim Niessen was invited to contribute to a discussion about the Internet on the pages of the Debrecen journal of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, and his essay on “Historians and the Internet” appeared here (in Hungarian): http://w3.atomki.hu/debrecen/debszem/96_2/niessen.html . The contributors will now be providing updates to their remarks, and Jim has promised us a recap of his new essay for our next issue.

    Preservation Week

    April 24 – April 30, 2016 preservationRutgers University librarians are participating in events to celebrate Preservation Week, which is an initiative of ALA ALCTS-PARS:

    “From Cassette to Cloud: Reformatting Audiotapes,” by Krista White on April 26 from 2 – 3 p.m.

    Learn how to evaluate audio formats and the technical details of digitizing them in this one hour webinar.

    “Preserving Your Digital Life,” by Krista White and Isaiah Beard on April 28 from 2 – 3 p.m.

    Learn how to develop and implement a plan for preserving your digital life so that friends and family can enjoy your memories far into the future.

    Both of these webinars are designed by ALCTS to be suitable for a lay audience. The official description of the webinars and more information is at the ALA/ ALCTS-PARS Preservation Week site here: http://www.ala.org/alcts/confevents/preswk/alctsevents

    “Cherry Blossoms in Spring” exhibit at Dana Library

    April 14 – June 30, 2016 cherry blossoms in spring exhibit image 300Dana Library is hosting “Cherry Blossoms in Spring,” an installation by artist Karen Guancione, in the Gallery from April 14 through June 30.  An opening reception will take place on Thursday, April 14, from 5 to 7 p.m. in the Library’s Dana Room and an accompanying program on the history of cherry trees in the Garden State featuring horticulturist Anthony S. Aiello will take place on Thursday, April 21, at 3 p.m. in the Dana Room. Read up on these events here.

    New digital exhibition: “Invisible Restraints: Life and Labor at Seabrook Farms”

    April 20, 2016 Seabrook Farm exhibit imageThe online exhibition, “Invisible Restraints: Life and Labor at Seabrook Farms,” which will be hosted by the New Jersey Digital Highway, will officially launch this month. The opening event will be held Wednesday, April 20, 2016 at 4 p.m. in the Teleconference Lecture Hall at Alexander Library. For more on this unique collaboration, read our news story.

    Digital Humanities Initiative workshop

    April 6, 2016
    L0022787 L. Ercker, The laws of art and nature... Credit: Wellcome Library, London. Wellcome Images images@wellcome.ac.uk http://wellcomeimages.org Sculpture II. Engraving The laws of art and nature... Lazarus Ercker Published: 1683 Copyrighted work available under Creative Commons Attribution only licence CC BY 4.0 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
    Engraving from “The laws of art and nature…” (1683) by Lazarus Ercker. Image credit: Wellcome Library, London.

    Rutgers’ Digital Humanities Initiative and the Libraries will host a Digital Lab Series of five workshops throughout the spring semester at the Alexander Library, Rutgers University–New Brunswick. This lab will introduce the basic building blocks of the web: HTML and CSS.

    Introduction to Web Development with HTML and CSS
    with Francesca Giannetti
    Wednesday, April 6, 2016
    11 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.

    SAPAC brown bag presentation, “A Citation Analysis of English Dissertations at Rutgers University”

    April 6, 2016 Brown Lunch bag paper with red apple on white background

    The Scholarly and Professional Activities Committee invites you to a brown bag presentation on Wednesday, April 6, at noon, in the Pane Room, Alexander Library, with video-conferencing to the Dana (Dana Administrative Conference Room) and Robeson (290).

    A Citation Analysis of English Dissertations at Rutgers University
    Kevin Mulcahy
    Abstract:
    Academic libraries, especially at state funded institutions, face converging pressures—budgets that are often flat or declining; increased requests for a wide variety of resources (journals, print and e-books, full-text databases, data sets, films and other media), and demands for assessment and accountability from university administrations and state legislatures. Literature librarians confront, directly, or at least implicitly, the additional challenge: is spending institutional funds on books worthwhile. While there is perhaps a tendency for literature specialists to throw up their hands in dismay or to regard the questioners as philistines who simply do not understand the nature of literary research, a more sound strategy is to assess the actual use of their collections. What evidence proves that books are still an integral part of the resources used by literature scholars? To help answer this question, I examined the bibliographies of 30 recent (2008-2014) dissertations from the English Department at Rutgers University, and coded 5870 citations by format and date. Books account for 67.7% of all citations, journal articles for 16.8%, and literary works (novels, drama, poetry, etc.) for 9.7%.

    TeachMeet, “See One, Do One, Teach One”

    April 6, 2016 The Instructional Community of Practice (ICOP) and the Instruction and Information Literacy Team (NB) invite you to a TeachMeet being presented by our RBHS colleagues, Roberta FitzPatrick and Peggy Dreker.

    See One, Do One, Teach One
    Date: Wednesday, April 6, 2016
    Location: Pane room, Alexander Library (Dana, Robeson, Smith teleconference)
    Time: 2 p.m. – 3:30 p.m.

    Students at the New Jersey Medical School (NJMS) and the Rutgers School of Dental Medicine (RSDM) attend an instructional session which covers some basic searching and evidence-based medicine/dentistry concepts, as well as information about writing a CAT (Critically Appraised Topic). They learn how to write a searchable question and how to break that question into concepts, called the PICO format, which helps them to generate search terminology. Students use the information taught in the session to write their own CAT, then teach from that CAT in their subsequent small group sessions. The scholarship and research skills demonstrated by their finished CAT are graded by the preceptor. Hear how this approach to assessment can be adopted in your own discipline/instruction sessions.
  • Win a copy of Tom Glynn’s award-winning book, Reading Publics

    Win a copy of Tom Glynn’s award-winning book, Reading Publics

    reading public

    As you may have noticed in the Staff News, Tom Glynn’s new book, Reading Publics: New York City’s Public Libraries, 1754-1911, has won three major awards:

    His publisher, Fordham University Press, was kind enough to give us a review copy of his book for a giveaway. This giveaway is only for faculty, staff, student workers, interns, and other employees of Rutgers University Libraries. See below for details on how to enter. You can receive up to 3 entries if you complete all three actions:

     

    a Rafflecopter giveaway

  • New Brunswick Libraries Reorganization

    New Brunswick Libraries Reorganization

    NB librariesAfter more than a year of collaborative planning, visioning and modeling, the New Brunswick Libraries have launched our new organizational structure. Three departments—Experience, Learning & Engagement, and Research & Content—were created to focus our efforts, amplify our voices, and align our work more closely with organizational priorities.

    Within the departments, ten teams (listed below) have been tasked with identifying opportunities for shared work and setting goals. All teams include faculty and staff in an effort to create a sense of shared purpose and to improve communication. The teams will focus on local needs but will also coordinate work with other Libraries units, committees and groups to ensure we are working effectively within and across the system.

    Departments and Teams

    Experience Department (Melissa Just, department head)

    • Service Points Team

    Learning & Engagement Department (Melissa Gasparotto, department head)

    • Instruction & Information Literacy Team
    • Undergraduate Experience Team
    • Global Experience Team

    Research & Content Department (Ryan Womack, department head)

    • Content Team
    • Graduate and Faculty Services Team
    • Research Collaborations Team
    • Research Data Outreach Team
    • Scholarly Communication & Open Access Team
    • Research Spaces Team

    The New Brunswick Libraries Steering Team sets the overall priorities for the unit and facilitates communication across departments and teams. Membership includes the NBL director, the department heads, the chair of the NBL faculty (Karen Hartman) and a staff representative (Meghan Lord). Two immediate projects of the steering team include setting up NBL ALL meetings to launch the work of the teams, and identifying a mechanism for sharing documents, progress reports and other information.

    Stay tuned for future Agenda articles from NBL departments and teams as our work gets underway!